The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a system for pressurizing and delivering solid feedstock (e.g., biomass) to a fixed bed reactor.
A typical, small scale (e.g., 10-30 MW) fixed bed reactor (e.g., fixed bed gasifier) is capable of generating energy from various solid feedstock (e.g., biomass). The fixed bed reactor may convert the solid feedstock into a combustible gas (i.e., syngas) by reaction with oxidant (air, enriched air, or oxygen), steam, or a combination thereof. This combustible gas may be used in a variety of applications such as for chemical production or in a combustion engine for use in the generation of electricity. Alternatively, the fixed bed reactor may use the solid feedstock to generate steam for use in a steam turbine for use in the generation of electricity. However, use of biomass as the feedstock limits the scale of these fixed bed reactors. In addition, the fixed bed reactors operate at near atmospheric pressure limiting the production capacity of the reactors.